[Capdist-announce] PRESS RELEASE: SLCA presents Regional Premier of "John Ball's In the Heat of the Night" running October 6-October 15

Thu Sep 21 07:26:06 EDT 2017

              September 21,2017

            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

            Contact: Kathy Verenini
*

              Assistant to the Executive Director/Box Office*

            info at slca-ctp.org; 518-674-2007 <(518)%20674-2007>

            Press Photos attached

*Sand Lake Center for the Arts-Circle Theatre Players present John Ball's
In the Heat of the Night Adapted by Matt Pelfrey from John Ball's
Novel* *October
6-15*

**AVERILL PARK, NY (September 21,2017)- On Friday, October 6 at 8 pm, the
Sand Lake Center for the Arts will present the Regional Premiere of *John
Ball's In the Heat of the Night *adapted by Matt Pelfrey from John Ball's
novel as the opening production in their Circle Theatre Players 2017-18
subscription season. The play will run for two weekends until October, 15
and is directed by Patrick White in his SLCA debut. Tickets are $18. for
adults and $10. for those under 18.

*John Ball's In the Heat of the Night* is adapted from the classic crime
novel of 1965 which won Schenectady native John Ball an Edgar Award from
the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel. Ball was also awarded
a slice of immortality with this novel which introduced the character of
Virgil Tibbs (Aileem Penn) a Californian black police detective passing
through the small town during the time of intense bigotry and the civil
rights movement. He is the most hated man on sight by the color of his skin
but proves himself indispensable to the investigation of a murder and
reveals himself to be the town's salvation.

The book has inspired many incarnations most famously the 1967 Oscar
winning film celebrating its 50th Anniversary which picked up trophies for
Best Picture and Best Actor for Rod Steiger as Chief Gillespie (Chris
Foster in the CTP production. There was also a long running television
series (1988-1995) starring Carrol O'Connor still in syndication. Virgil
Tibbs also appears in six subsequent John Ball novels-*The Cool Cottontail*
(1966), *Johnny Get Your Gun* (1969), *Five Pieces of Cake* (1972), *The
Eyes of Buddha* (1976), *Then Came Violence* (1980) and *Singapore* (1986).

The Circle Theatre Players production has Aileem Penn and Chris Foster
heading up a cast of 14 directed by Patrick White in his Sand Lake Center
for the Arts debut. The cast features 9 actors making their Sand Lake
debut. It is produced by Val Kavanaugh with sets and lights by Barry
Striefert, stage management by Mary Margaret Concra and set by Bob and
Sharon Dawes. The play will be done on a practically bare stage using only
a wall and 3 chairs to create 35 different scenes. Movement assistance by
Cori Irwin and fight choreography by Ron Glasser. Barbara Neu did costumes
and Anna Church and Karleen Hayden did props and set dressing.

*At A Glance*

October 6, 2017-October 15,2017
*John Ball's In the Heat of the Night*
*adapted by Matt Pelfrey*
*from the novel By John Ball*
*directed by Patrick White*
*At the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, 2880 NY 43 Averill Park, NY 12018*
*10/6, 10/7, 10/12, 10/13, 10/14 at 8pm*
*10/8 & 10/15 at 2:30pm*
*Adults: $18.*
*Under 18: $10.*
*http://slca-ctp.org <http://slca-ctp.org/>*

*ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: MATT PELFREY*
"I love aggressive, challenging, uncomfortable, conflict-drenched theatre.
If I don’t wince, or feel like I’m being (expletive) around with in some
spiritual way, then what’s the point?" *Matt Pelfrey* is the resident
playwright at Furious Theatre. His plays include *An Impending Rupture of
the Belly, Cockroach Nation, Terminus Americana, Honkies with Attitude,
Gore Hounds, Drive Angry, Jerry Springer is God**, John Ball's In the Heat
of the Night* and *Monkey and A Feast of Famine*. They have been produced
in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and South Africa by such companies as the
Actors Theater of Louisville (Humana Festival ’99), Furious Theatre
Company, Roadworks, American Theater of Actors, (Mostly) Harmless Theater
Company, Moving Arts, Hexagon Theatre and the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble.
He is the recipient of the Heideman Award (National Ten-Minute Play Award)
for his play *Drive Angry*. *Drive Angry* was subsequently produced in the
prestigious Humana Festival of New American Plays. Mr. Pelfrey recently won
a Back Stage Garland Award for playwriting. He has been nominated for an
American Critic’s New Play Award, LA Weekly Playwriting Award and a Los
Angeles Ovation Award.

*ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: PATRICK WHITE*
"The simple genius of Ball's novel and why it continues to endure is the
simple fact that we are all interrelated and dependent on each other. Where
many detectives are outsiders- Poirot, Holmes, Spade, Tibbs is an outsider
by the fact that the town dependent on his expertise despises him because
of his skin color. Who they hate the most proves to be their salvation."
says White of the appeal of the story for him and his reason for selecting
it.
Patrick White is an actor, director and teacher in the Capital Region who
has worked extensively with many of the dozens of theatre companies in the
area. His directing work includes *The Pope and the Witch*, *Suddenly, Last
Summer*,* Grand Concourse* at ACT, *Clever Little Lies* and *Living on Love*
at CCT, *True West* at TGP, *The Foreigner* at HMT, *The* *Glass Menagerie*
with OOPs and* Rapture, Blister, Burn* at SCP. He will be appearing in *See
How They Run* at CCT in December and teaches a private acting class
Saturday mornings at the Albany Masonic Lodge. Email:
info at actingclasswithpatrickwhite.com

Photos by Adam Wilson-Hwang

Captions:
Photo 8)The town of Argo, Alabama is ready to crack under the sweltering
pressure of suspicion as Homicide Detective Virgil Tibbs picks up the case
of murder while travelling thru town in "John Ball's In the Heat of the
Night" adapted by Matt Pelfrey presented by The Sand Lake Center for the
Arts 10/6-10/15.
L-R: Lee Lattimer, Will Murphy (kneeling), Todd Langley, Abbi Roy, Ed
Miller, Mike Eisenstein, Aileem Penn (kneeling), Rich Cross, Joseph Bruton,
Chris Foster (kneeling), Dennis Skiba, Carter Holmes, Jessica JJ Paul.

Photo 1) Argo Police officer (Mike Eisenstein) confront and prepare to
detain a possible suspect after mistakenly profiling Detective Virgil Tibbs
(Aileem Penn). Cast behind l-r: Will Murphy, Abbi Roy, Ed Miller, Dennis
Skiba, Lee Lattimer, Jessica JJ Paul, Chris Foster & Richard Cross.

Photo 6) Detective Virgil Tibbs is detained and questioned after being
profiled at the train station in 1962 Argo, Alabama. (Aileem Penn as Mister
Tibbs).

Photo 7) Chief Gillespie needs the help of travelling Detective Virgil
Tibbs to solve a murder that has brought the town of Argo, Alabama to a
boiling point. (l-r: Chris Foster as Chief Gillespie and Aileem Penn as
Mister Tibbs).
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